'If I get the chance to kill the Black Marker myself, I'll make sure it knows how it feels to die as slow as possible.' Sweetiebelle thought as she plucked Markers from her chest to her head. 'Nexus, you lucky Unimorph, getting a nice, soft, cushioned landing on top of me.'

As she was pulling an exceptionally large Marker from her throat, she looked over at Nexus and saw him reverting back to a pony. Stopping mid pull, she looked down at herself before following him. As the Markers slowly fell off her as she reverted, she got a better glimpse of the area around her.

Strange statues as tall as Nexus were scattered in some parts of the cavern, cut blocks of rock were everywhere, Corruption was growing in others, and in a corner, she spotted a small light in the darkness. With her vision now almost level with Nexus, she looked around where they were.

Crushed Markers and a significant hole where she landed, and the imprint of herself when Nexus had landed on top of her. Glaring at him, he merely gave her that same curious look as usual. Snorting out a breath of air filled with a few specks of blood, she looked around until she saw where part of the wall had collapsed.

"Nexus," she said making him bolt into a standing position. "Stay close and don't wander off."

He didn't say nothing but instead pressed himself up against her. She was going to protest, but decided against it. Taking a step, she let out a yelp when she was lifted off the ground and then set back down. Looking at her own leg, she pulled it to the side only for it to come back with part of Nexus's skin. Feeling sick at the sight of seeing his skin stretch like rubber, she tapped him on the shoulder drawing his attention.

"Nexus, I said close," she said keeping her eyes away. "Not fuse yourself with me."

"Sorry, mistress." He said, his voice as gravelly as before.

Taking his leg away from hers, he stood beside her, looking down with the same neutral expression. Lifting her legs, she checked her tail to make sure he hadn't tried anything with that. Seeing all the hair still in place, she looked back at the hole and began to climb over the rocks.

Grabbing onto a large one, she pulled herself onto the top and peered into a small clearing with a Marker standing in the middle. Waiting for Nexus as he stepped over the rocks with ease, she hopped down onto the stone floor. As she began walking towards a doorway, the blare of a Stalker rang out in the cavern. Rolling her eyes, she lit her horn and cast a light blue light over the area.

After a moment, another blare was heard and the sound of footsteps, when she looked around though nothing was there. Blinking, she rubbed her eyes and changed them into Stalker eyes. Looking around, the walls and floor were slightly blurred with a red tint highlighting everything.

As another Stalker was heard, she snapped her head to look behind her, when she only saw Nexus looking around she looked forward again. She stopped to stare at the sight in front of her, six Stalkers were standing only a few feet away, and they weren't attacking. Looking back, Nexus wasn't showing the slightest notion of attacking, he just stared ahead at them.

Looking back at where they were, she blinked when they had vanished. Shaking her head, she went through the doorway with Nexus still following.

The view now was much better than what she had before, the floor disappeared into a near darkness even with her advanced eyesight. The rocks had turned into metal, all of them with the skeletal remains of creatures fused with them. Rising above everything else was a large temple-like structure, the entire front of it was nothing but a sheer drop while beyond that more of the skeletons stood facing away from it.

Sighing again, she looked around until she saw a white light coming from over a wall. Going to the edge of the platform, she looked down before looking at the distance. Looking at the wall, she followed it to a corner connecting to the platform. Taking out her Stalker claws, she went to the corner and with some effort sunk them into the metal. When she was three punctures away from the platform, Nexus sunk a pair of his own into the wall.

Inch by inch they made their way over the crevice, Sweetiebelle occasionally losing her grip before quickly sinking her claws into another part of the wall. Looking down, she snapped her head back to the other wall. Stopping momentarily, they both began to ascend as they climbed nearer to the corner.

Reaching the corner, Sweetiebelle stretched one of her fore-legs far enough for the skin to stretch and tear slightly; sinking her claws in, she brought the other half of herself over before teleporting the rest of the way up. Waiting for Nexus, a soft pop and flash happened next to her and the Unimorph was standing next to her. Looking down at her, he looked back over the edge before back at her.

Looking around, Sweetiebelle's eyes widened as she saw a large group of Necromorphs, all of them standing around one of the grey Markers as it shone a mix of grey and red. All of the Necromrophs were huddled around it, not in the way like she saw at Titan Station with the convergence event, but as if they're watching something. Picking up a rock, she threw it and aimed her horn straight at them, charged with a spell she watched as the rock passed through a Slasher.

Staring at the group, she blinked and when she looked again, the Necromrophs were gone. Casting a side-ward glance at Nexus, she got down and landed on the ground in a heap. With a crack as she landed, her legs twisted out in different angles, when Nexus jumped his head was bent back like a candy dispenser. While she got up, he grabbed his head and snapped it back into place.

Standing again, she looked back at the Marker. Its glow had ceased, now it was only just a rock again, twisted into the shape she had learned to loathe for her death.

"Sweetiebelle, darling is that you?" Came an old hoarse voice.

"Grandma?" Sweetiebelle said looking ahead as her grandmother came out into view. "I thought you..."

"You should know better than to think of me like that." The elderly white unicorn said, her blue eyes looking softly at Sweetiebelle. "Now, tell me, what has my little Sweetiebelle been up to? And who's the handsome stallion with you?" She smiled as Sweetiebelle blushed a little.

"Well..." Sweetiebelle said sitting against a rock. "I died a month ago, I'm apart of a global organization dedicated to protect the world from any inter-dimensional threat, and I'm currently trying to find my friends." She said. "This is Nexus by the way. He's... A friend."

"A friend?" Her grandmother laughed. "He seems nice enough. Nevermind that though," she said shaking her head. "I'm just here to see how my favorite granddaughter is."

"That's very nice of you, really it is," Sweetiebelle said. "But it's kind of sad." She said looking at the Marker above her grandmother.

"Sad? How is seeing me sad?" Her grandmother said frowning.

"It's not, seeing you again I mean, but really? You're going to try to fool me twice with the same family member?" She said glaring at the Marker. "You can drop the act, I know it's just the Marker trying to trick me."

"The Marker? This thing is just a chunk of rock, it can't do anything." Her grandmother said tapping the Marker behind her.

"Whatever, I'm leaving before you try to imitate my goldfish." She said as she got up. "I'll just leave you on your little pedestal, so long Marker!"

As she was leaving, her grandmother gave a screech. Turning back, she saw the old mare with blood pooling out of her eyes and mouth.

"This is not over." She said. "You and your friends will be made whole! You-"

"Let me stop you right there," Sweetiebelle said holding up a hoof. "Do you see this face? The one I have right now? This is what annoyance looks like. And this is the part where I put you in a hole. Nexus, grab the edges of the pedestal, I'll get the hole started."

"Don't you dare!" Her grandmother yelled while her voice was only coming out gurgled, it still came out clear in Swetiebelle's mind. "We will kill you all!"

As Nexus tore the pedestal from the rock, Sweetiebelle had already turned into one of her smaller forms and was tearing the rock away with each cut. Once she had a hole deep enough to drop her head in, Nexus tossed the Marker in by the points. turning around, Sweetiebelle filled in the hole and stomped on it once for insult.

Looking around, the two hybrids started towards the nearest wall. Jumping onto the wall, they ran at their top speed to the lights from earlier. In minutes they had crossed the large maze of walls and rooms, jumped over a few man-made paths and were standing in front of a door.

Before she shrunk down, Sweetiebelle looked at her claws before running it over the rock. It cut into it like a hot rock against ice; clicking her mandibles together in a moment of amusement, she began digging with Nexus by her side.

'I think today is going to get better.' She thought. Glancing at Nexus, she stopped momentarily and watched him dig. 'I guess he is handsome. His eyes are a nice shade of crimson too.' After a moment to let that thought settle in, she shook her head of those thoughts and continued digging. 'Stupid Marker, making me realize how handsome he is.'

Author's Notes:

SweetieNexus... NexusBelle...? Yeah, I'm gonna do a ship later. Deal with it.

Merry Christmas!